Vehicle pusher



R. 8. SMITH.

VEHICLE PUSHER.

APPLICATION mu) MAY27,1915.

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VEHICLE PUSHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1915.

nu 1 N2 2 2% s %q I m 08 m2 n e t a P mounted upon itS'aiYlc REUBEN STANLEY SMITH, 0)? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Assmnc-R TO A. o, sin-TH COMPANY; OF MILWAUKEE'XVISCONSIN, A CQRFORATION OT. WISfiIONSIN.

1915. SsrialNo. 30:56.

Be it known that I ...Ri:Li i'n STA; 1m Snrrn. a citizen of the l nted- States. resuling at'Los Angeles. in the county of Los Angolcs and State-of Californiz'i, have inrented a ccrtain"iie\\' and useful IIIIIPXQVC ment in Vehicle-Pushers, of. which the following is a full, clear, oon'cise. andexaet description. reference. being had to the acco|'npan -'ing drawings, forniinga part 01" this s 'iecificatioii.

This invention relates'to motors or push ers. and particularly 'to that hm of luolors which'is arrange-d to he attached to a vehicle to propel the. same. awheinhhdics a wheel adapteiljo run-on thcground at th side or rear of the \ehicle.' thc 'whcel lwcin; pro \ided with a uiotor-adapted to'drirc it and thus topush or drive. the iehicle with which si'iit-ahle connection ib made.-

Iu'its preferred form n\ intention involveaan intcrnal'combustion engine associatedwiththe drive. wheel.

The gcne'ral ohjeets ofinji invention are. toproridc a'iuotor driven Pusher o frlow first (:Uflliuf light. weightQiif"sti'i-i ;;tli. .of satisfactory operating qualities. and of general cllicienc).

The. present ap 'ilication is a division of ih co-peinling" afiplicatioi'u'iSerial No. 85?.(392. filed Augiust'20.19135 The pusher illustrated in this priin"abplication is illua' iratcd as lltlllg co'iiiieetcd with a hicy'cle. hot

it will readily lit understoml that the. pusher "an housed i i'coiiin'ictiou withjany kind of a vehicle. 3 I I ,ln the preferred en'i'hodiinent' of in) in Yention 'tlio'p'uslier' "l dhshed and has notor, \i'heri .liv the weight of th u'iotoraiid the. associated parts is centrally located directlyabove the. point at which oa h-nut of. the wheel rests upon the ground. YEliO HlOtQl is prorided with a casing. or frame. the"'fin\\ard extension of which establishes the connect-ion between tho .axle of the pusher'wheel and the vehicle with which it is connected. Since. the weight of the motor iS carried upon the, axle of-thc. pi'isher wheel, I have. dei'ised a pusher wheel which may heflstainpul of sheet metal idished to attomniodate the. inotoeand still retain the. necessary strength required. By this means I securea light wheel which has tension.serves 1 in; oi iir-partas a lubri- -l.he. fuel tank and the. motor.

VEHICLE-Pu suing.

Original appliatioii filed August 2( 1914.-Srial No. 857,692. Divided and this application filed May 2?,

a resiliency snfiicien-t toreiicvo the-motor.

mechai'iisnrof the shocks or .jars to which itwould otherwise he. suh ected, and-which.

.notwithstaiuling. its racliral dish-,- has the strength necessary to carrythe weightof the motor. The wheel. i sojo'rmed thatits distortion is distributed. tl'iroi'igln'intthe metal of which thewheel fornied.thcrelzr n'erenting the or otherwige occur at or near the pointstsul jected to the grcz'itest strain. .1

.The motor frame 15 prov ded --\l ltll;( ?.\'t(ll- ,Sions front and rear, these exteugions-fiil- .hllur; thcn' functions as follows: 1

stallization which would wlncl-i is pusher wheelto the rehiele; SI Thisgm ward projection series also pas; .a-.-1i nidll' r chandler for inutlhng thee'xhanst niotorf, 4-. The rearwi'n-il p.1- ijelction,

rini without disturbing-in any degree the.

arrangement 'or intercounection' of-t-he other parts of the mechauisini. 'lihiais a decided advantage because it facilitates the repair or reilacmnent of the tire. 'lhia arrange ment makes it possible also to rennno-"thn pusher wheel from its axle without disturli ing any other part of tiii?inechanisnikaml it al$o lnakesit possible to re.-n:0'\'-:1 the.mud guard withoutdisturbing other parts (lithe Hl((ll:ll\iSlll except the connection between other features of novelty will'inore fully appear in conn'eetii'in witlrthe detailed dev These and scription when read in connection with the.

acoinpanying drawings in which, v

l'-igure. l a side olevational View of the n i -arts of the pnsheix wheel he.ing broken away mi:- early rexfr thc interior eonstruialon. Fig. 2 1s a vertical secti nal View of the pusher wheel, the motor associated her wheei of In? ii'niention, some of thetherewith being shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view. of the crank case, showing the crank shaft of the engine and the axle upon which the pusher wheel is mounted. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the engine frame work illustrating the lubricating devices, and that portion of the engine frame which constitutes a part of the mufller mechanism. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the perforated plate which forms a part of the mufller mechanism.

as is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The

wheel, as illustrated in the drawings, is equipped with a rim 8 and a suitable tread, preferably in the form of a pneumatic tire 9.

At 10 I have illustrated the frame work of the engine which serves as a power plant for the improved pusher of my invention. Attention is directed to the fact that owing to the dished conformation of the wheel and the location of the engine thus made possible, the center of gravity of the power plant is located directly over that portion of the tread which engages the road, and, accordingly there is no tendency for the power plant to tip the wheel in eitherdirection.

The hub of the wheel 7 is in the form of a circular plate 11 riveted in position as illustrated. The circular plate 11 is provided with an integral boss 12 provided with a conical bore in which is keyed the conical end 13 of the shaft 14, the other end of said shaft being mounted in suitable roller bearings located on the side of the engine frame work opposite the wheel 7. The wheel 7 is securely positioned .ipon the shaft 14 by a cap nut 15 threaded upon the right end of the shaft 14, (Fig. 3). As will more fully hereinafter appear, the shaft 14 serving as the axle of the pusher wheel also serves as a cam shaft for the pusher motor. The engine frame is provided on opposite sides thereof with removable cover plates 16 and 17 retained in position by bolts or other cquivaleiit means. The cover plates referred to are preferably stamped from sheet metal and are conically dished to provide strength and rigidity. lly providing openings on opposite sides of the motor frame work and by providing cover plates for said openings, as described, the engine crank shaft may be inserted through the opening close by the cover plate 16 and the pusher {LXltK r cam shaft 14, may be inserted through the open ing closed by the cover plate 17. The cover plates 16 and 17 are preferably given a circular contour whereby the surfaces of the engine crank case, or housing, to which they are bolted may be circular, thus facilitating and cheapening the machine operation by which these surfaces are finished. Most of the machine surfaces of the engine casing, or housing, are concentric with respect to the surfaces which must be machined for the accommodation of the cover plates. there-bv further simplifying and cheapening the machine work of manufacture. The closure plate 17 has threaded thereon a "ring 18 provided with an interior conical surface concentric and parallel with the conical surface 13 of the axle or cam shaft 14. Interposed between roller races afforded by the ring 18 and conical end 13 of the shaft 14 is a plurality of rollers 19, preferably confined in a suitable cage 20, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The motor crank shaft, illustrated at 21, is provided with a light fly wheel 22 and has the left end thereof, Fig. 3, mounted in an adjustable roller bearing substantially like the adjustable roller bearing of the axle or cam shaft 14 hereinbefore described. It will be noted that the right end of the crank shaft 21, Fig. 3, is provided with a suitable conical surface cooperating with a non-adjustable roller bearing indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 23. The lefthand end of the axle, or cam shaft 14, Fig. 3, is suitably mounted in a non-adjustable roller bearing (not shown), substantially like the non-adjustable roller bearing 23 with which the crank shaft 21 is provided. 1

Attention is'directed to the fact that the axle, or cam shaft 14, and the crank shaft 21 are provided with conical extensions by means of which connections with the pusher wheel and fly wheel are effected, and the geometrical surfaces of these conical extensions are expected to serve as the conical bearing members upon which the rollers of the adjustable bearings ride. A single grinding operation therefore is sutlicicnt to provide both the bearing surface and the surface engaged by the hub of the wheel with which connection is made. I The adjustable bearings with which the crank shaft 21 and axle, or cam shaft 14, are provided, are equipped with externally threaded lock nuts 24 which serve not only to maintain the bearings in alinoment, but which also serve as housing for felt oil, rings or washers 25. It will be seen that the structure justdescribed is designed to permit the adjustment of both bearings of each shaft by the adjustment of the bearings at one endonly. j

The axle, or camshaft 14, has fixed thereon a gear 26 meshing with the pinion 27 carried by the engine crank shaft. The connection between the crank shaft and axle, or cam shaft, is in an 8 to 1 ratio for a reason to be subsequently explained. Inasmuch as the pn keyed upon the axle, or

earn shaft. 14, it will be seen that the gearing as the transmission ,wheel is driven the usual pitman rodEO. The cylinder isprovided with a suitable spark plug 31,

and intake and exhaustvalves shown, speetively. at and 33. r

Y Theengine provided with a suitable ignitioi magneto 34 disposed in an opening in the engine frame just forward of the cylinder and is'prtwided with a circular bos=s neto shaft, tin

disturbing or or flange surronndiiw one end of the magengine frame be ng provided ending surface to whieh with p a. eorres .the magneto is i'polted, as is most clearly illustratet'l in Pig. 4. As is most clearly illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. the mag neto shaft is provided with a driving pinion 36 which meahos with theram shaft gear 26, the method f mountingthe magneto being sixth as to insure its alinement and the proper sparing between its shaft and the of the camshaft. The engine frame is arranged in sue manner as to expose the timer mtarhaniwn of the-magneto thereby making it readily aeeessil'ile for iuljustinent or repair. Therm-ans by whieu the mag neto is n'iount'ed makes, it possible also to remove it entii v from the engine withoutenioving other parts in ease surh removal ncomes neressaryl ()ne ter minal of the magneto is groundml. and 'the other terminal eonneeted by means of a suitable conductor 1-? with the ilhtllated terminal of the spark plug 3-H. thereby redneing the wiring of thefiguition svwtem lo a inininunn. and confining the .lilztfim'to and th'eelertriral eonn 'tiou between it and the -.park plug to a position within the dish of the puahe'r wheel. and thus protertiug it from water in tlie ease of rain and from the mud'plash at the vrhirle or puxher wheel.

'lhe inh-t \'al'\'e 3 of the engine rylinder is at the usual type and is provided with a Spring normally holding-it upon its seat. the valve being. opened when xurtion is treated in the engine evlinder in'a manner well known to those skilled in the] art of in terual rombustion engine eonstrurtion. The exhaust valve 133 haa attarhed thereto a rod 21% passing hrouy" a hoax Ill) formed inlegral with the eugi-ie rylinder. (arried by the rod m-aolb lower -nd thereof is a rollar' o flvasher l". hit-h serves as "n abul. merit fnrtiiosprigi ll. normally tending to hold tlieexha'ed. ijal '3'. upon its all. The

m5 it o xileiluwasher en l of the alri siderablr distance from the valve rod 3-8 and the boss 3!) tlu-relrv permitting air to rireu 'phmger 43 is operated by the eamalltlie exhaust valve 33 will be moved to its open position against the tension of ltStlSStXltltQd spring 41. The (rarbnreter 45 is'holted, or otherwise secured, directly to the valve eas ingof the engine, thus dispensing with a manifold and securing an adv'antage in ear.- buretion due to the heat of the engine.

The engine frame is provided with frontand rear extensionaillustrated reispertively at 46 and 47. The forward 'u'ojeetion iii; is conformed to. provide two rhamberu' ls and 45). said chambers being separated by ant ti able wall 50. Seem-ed to the projeetioi ltij r by stud bolts. or other equivalent means; is a vast and slightly dished plate 51 having in arm extending forwardly from the p ojeetion lli. interposed between theplate 1 and the projertion 4o of the engine'framei. a plate 31" illustrated in detail in l igs. and it, this last mentioned plate having pipe 56 a ll'ords' on'net'ition.lietween the elmmlier 4-? and the exhaust port of the engine. passage 57 annuu (-onueetion. hetwreirthe rhamher 41) and. the atmor phere. it will be understood that thermrt just drst'rilled eons-titute'a mulller. the bxhaust ara-s talv'ing the path indirated by the Silt) arrows m Fig. lhe. rear projertiou li' of the. engine fraiue' :u-rvek as a riuervoir l'or luhrieating oil, the luhrirating oil being admitted to the space within the projeetion li through an opening normally rhw-d by a vauitable plug pa age 55 leads from the. bottom of the oil It.\(t\'uil' to a spare in the engine crank ra e slightly below the normal oil level thereof. g it will be understood that the oil reservoir 1 is tight and that the crank rune, is capable. of ('(mtaining a rousiderable quantity of lubri eating oil in the bottom thereof in order that the operating parts oi the engine may be. lulu'irated by the splashing of the oil within the rrank case. When the level oflhe oil in the (Tani; ruse falls below the o: ifirr of the passage 51 air l'illlillit oil re.v =rvoir to permit ii! of oil has then been permitted to passin tix the crank case the oil in the crank case will submerge the orifice of the passage .59 and thus )revent the further flow of lubricating oil. lhe oil reservoir is preferably provided with an outlet opening normally closed by a plug 60. Attention is directed to the fact that the cam mechanism 44, for operating the exhaust valve, is'so designed-that it is lubricated-by the oil splashing within the crank case. Secured to. the projection 47, as most clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, is a rearwardly projecting arm 61 which serves to "support one end of the mud guard 62 passing over the 'pushcr wheel. Theother end of the mud guard 62 is supported by the forwardly projecting arm 52 of the plate 51, as'is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 1.

Removably mounted upon themuduard 62, as is most clearly illustrated in F igs. 1 and 2, is a fuel tank 63, the connection between the fuel tank and the carbureter being established by a tube 64. Preferably interposed between the connection between the fuel tank and the carbureter is a stop cock, illustrated at 65. The forwardly projecting arm 52 is provided with an aperture 66 so that connection to the vehicle may be made. Any suitable connecting means may be employed and I have, therefore, thought it unnecessary to illustrate a connector. It will be noted that the fly wheel 22 and the traction wheel 7 rotate in opposite directions due to the fact that they are connected by the int'ermcshing gears 26 and 27 intervening between the crank shaft 21 and the axle 14. The rotation of the fly wheel 22 at a high rate of speed produces a gyroscopic effect which, if not neutralized, would interfere with the steering qualities of the bicycle with which the device is connected. Since, however, the traction wheel 7-rotates in a plane parallel with that in which the balance wheel rotates, but in the opposite direction, the gyi'oscopic effect of the balance wheel is wholly or partly neutralized by the gyroscopic eil'cct of the traction wheel. The two gyroscopic effects may be completely countor-balanced, and thus neutralized, by proper proportion of the parts and proper distribution of weight when taken in connection with the relative speeds at which the parts rotate.

lVhile I have illustrated my invention in the-particular embodiment herein shown and described, I appreciate the fact that a great many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described the combination of a traction wheel, an axle rigidly attached to said wheel and extending from one side thereof, an internal combustion engine rotatably mounted upon said prising in combination a dished driving wheel, an axle for said driving wheel fixed relatively thereto, an engine mounted on said axle and disposed in said Wheel, the center. of gravity of the wheel and engine being located substantially in the plane of the rim of'said driving wheel, said axle constituting one of the operating shafts of said engine, a crank shaft for said engine, and means for operatively connecting the cran shaft with said axle.

3. A device of the class described gomprising in combination a driving wheel, an axle for said driving wheel, an engine mounted on said axle,. said engine having a valve communicating with the engine cylinder and a crank shaft, means on said axle for causing cyclic operation of said valve, and mechanism for connecting the axle and crank shaft.

4. A device of the class described comprising in combination a driving wheel, an axle for said driving wheel, an engine mounted on said axle, said engine having an exhaust valve and a crank shaft, acam on said axle for causing cyclic operation of said exhaust valve, mechanism connectingsaid axle and crank shaft, and means for mechanically connecting the engine frame with a vehicle frame whereby the thrust of the pusher wheel is transmitted to the vehicle and whereby the engine frame is held in fixed position so that the pusher wheel is driven when the engine is operated.

A device of the class described comprising a pusher wheel, an axle for said pusher wheel, an engine mounted on said axle and connected in driving relation thereto, said engine comprising a. frame having front and rear projections, a mud guard car-. ried by said projections; a fuel supply tank supported by said mud guard. and means for transmitting the thrust of the pusher wheel fron the forward projection to the frame of a vehicle.

6. A unitary pusher structure comprising in combination a dished pusher wheel, an

axle for said pusher wheel, an engine sup-" 7. A unitary pusher structure comprising in combination a pusher wheel, an axle for said pusher wheel, an engine mounted on said axle, a crank shaft for said engine, means opcratively connecting the crank shaft with said axle, said engine comprising front and rear projections, and a mud guard secured to said front and rear projections and extending over the pusher Wheel 9. A unitary pusher structure comprising in combination a pusher wheel, an axle for said pusher wheel, an engine mounted on said axle, said engine comprising a frame, an exhaust valve and a crank shaft, means operatively connecting the crank shaft with said axle, means on said axle arranged to cyclicly operate said exhaustyalve, front and rear projections on said frame, and a mud guard supported by said frame and extending over the top of the pusher Wheel.

9. A unitary vehicle pusher structure comprising in combination a pusher wheel, an engine supported by the, pusher wheel and connected in driving relation thereto, said engine comprising a frame having front and rear projections, means for connecting one of said projections with the frame of an associated vehicle, and mufiler mechanism in one of said projections.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 17th day of April, A. D. 191

R. STANLEY SMITH.

Witnesses:

LEVERETT C. WHEELER, IRMA D. BREMER. 

